Well, Can you?

To God, that is.

Romans 8:6-8 in the KJV tells: For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Let’s break it down a little more because I want to clarify what unregenerate means.

Unregenerate:

adj. Not spiritually renewed or reformed; not repentant.

adj. Sinful; dissolute.

adj. Not reconciled to change; unreconstructed.

adj. Stubborn; obstinate.

None of those definitions above are anything like what a child of God is supposed to be. Let’s put the text in plain English:

NLT puts it this way:

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh CANNOT please God. (‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭6-8‬ NIV) (Emphasis mine)

If you allow yourself to continue in your sinful nature with your same attitude, same mindset and same behaviors you will NEVER submit to God. Matter of fact you CAN’T submit to Him. You literally can’t submit to God when you’re ruled by your sinful mind, your fleshy mind. That’s why Romans 12:2 admonishes us to RENEW our minds…DAILY. Only a renewed mind can defer to the living God.

Submission requires that you DAILY die to your own desires, your own dreams and how you think things should go. Dying daily is not a physical death but it’s a spiritual death. When you want to give a slick answer to the person that’s pushing your buttons but instead you hold your tongue. When you want to have that “movie” night with your current boo–that’s never really a movie night–but you choose to heed the voice inside that tells you to have a date outside of your home. OR heed the voice that tells you to dump him or her because they have no desire to follow the voice of the Lord…hmmm. We know that our flesh is a mess. Anytime we allow it to run the show, we always end up with regrets.

It’s so not easy when you’re used to taking the reins on everything in your life. I once heard a pastor say he didn’t even want to be in the backseat while God was driving, he said “Put me in the trunk and let me know when we get there”. When you say “God, I accept you as my Lord and Savior”, you immediately open the door to the car of your life, get out of the car and get in the trunk. If not, you’ll be tempted to be a backseat driver and NOBODY likes a backseat driver.

You can’t be BOTH oil AND Water. They just do not mix. You have the pick a side.

The more you listen to that little voice (Holy Spirit), the easier it gets to steer clear of temptation.